


Wolf's Bane

by Ink_Child



Category: Reylo - Fandom, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Red Riding Hood Elements, argh im so nervous, i dont know what im doing, this is the first go at a reylo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-11
Updated: 2018-01-18
Packaged: 2019-03-03 01:58:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13331061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ink_Child/pseuds/Ink_Child
Summary: "You still want to kill me." It was said so calmly, almost bemusedly and rankled her more than a furious tone would have. Teeth bared and throat tight she panted, watching as he rose though he did not move closer."That tends to happen when I'm hunted by a creature in the woods." Spat out before she could think better of it the words hung long between them and after a pause he crouched. There was nothing particularly rapid about his movement, although the elegance gave a feeling otherwise and reluctantly she gasped in a breath at his abrupt proximity.The black eyes that had so pinned her like a butterfly to a board in the wood now sizzled with interest and disdain at once. "It's wolf, the word you're looking for." He almost smiled, although his lips did not lift high enough for that. "I, the creature hunting you, am a wolf."





	1. Drunks and Kittens

**Author's Note:**

> Hiyo, I am Inky
> 
> I have been in the reylo fandom since before TLJ and have written a few reylo things but have not had the courage to post them. 
> 
> Yesterday a new gif set made by the very talented pixelrey on tumblr showed up on my dash. A Red Riding Hood theme was the subject and I was so struck by the images that this ended up on my screen before I knew what really happened. I'm a little bit shy about this, because I have read a lot of reylo fics and I know that the talent in the fandom is overwhelming so... just... here you go, my little contribution to the party. 
> 
> I don't know the length of this fic, but the hope is that it will be a multi-chapter slow burn as that is what I am most comfortable writing.   
> Much love,   
> Inky

They told him she would come  
A thing cloaked and hooded, a creature small yet sharp like a needle through the heart  
_We are all of us marked, destined to ending at the hands of our bane_  
_Poisonous to us they are, but how without them we strain_  
They told him she would come  
A thing soft and pliable, a creature of iron and strength  
Like a kiss to the wounds bleeding out with his sin

* * *

  
  
Sleeping in the park was not the best idea. It was one of her least favorite places to crash not because of the rustle of the breeze through the trees, which she loved, or the occasional song of an owl which made her shiver with delight.

  
It was the lack of privacy even the black of the forest brought. In the world of man there was never safety. Even in the outskirts of town, having walked the half hour to this particular trail there was no guarantee of peace.  
Curled up in a tight ball so that the knees of her ripped jeans jammed hard beneath her chin Rey shuddered in the shadows of the birch and pines, breathing in the resin that filtered through the world, lifted by the endless whisper of the waterfall meters behind her ever roaring.

  
Along with the water's endless fall there came the sounds of voices. Young men, with younger minds and the riot of liquor loud voices that promised spirits on their breath.  
Rey was fairly certain she would rather not get close enough to find out what kind of drink they had been indulging, and so her brain took off at a sprint to think through the math of escaping without being caught.

  
The water fall and their general ruckus would hide her steps if she chose to sneak from the little nook of roots and trunks where she had fashioned for herself a bed. An old ratty sleeping bag, a yoga mat that served as a mattress beneath and her lumpy backpack for her pillow were now clenched tight into her torso so as to not shimmer by the waning light of the half moon.

  
To put the items away and manage an escape seemed like a gamble. Sitting as she was tightly wound in the arms of the trees she was nearly invisible. There were no eyes that could see her if she did not move and although sitting up for the duration of the night waiting for them to move would cost her sleep it was better than being caught skulking.

  
Young men in packs were like wolves, always they hunted and she knew what it felt like to have their eyes find her alone where she ought not to be. The sensation of adrenaline feasting on her veins was a familiar one and more than once a terror had gripped her that had set her to sprinting like a doe from their smiles resembling bared teeth.

  
No one had ever caught her when she chose to run. A handful of instances had included a chase in which she had proved by far the victor. Liquor and running through tangled roots and wayward branches hardly made for good sportsmanship and even without the added advantage Rey knew what her legs could do, and how hard her heart could pump.

  
But those instances had always had a fair bit of distance between herself and those that might be enticed to hunt. This time their voices rang louder as they meandered through the wooded and mossy area of the water fall. Bottles clinked and jokes were told crude and fast.

She counted five distinct voices and at least six silhouettes though she could not be sure if there were more. 

  
Her mind whirred, like the buzzing of insects in the dark and the frantic dance of the grasses growing wild through the bushes. Run or stay, run or stay, run or stay.

  
"Hold on, I'm just going to take a piss- don't you guys leave me!"

  
Rey stilled, muscles locking and heart slowing as she watched on of those shapes stumble in her direction, cracking branches and cursing as he tripped and ended up nearly face planting into a tree.

  
"Fuck."

  
"Hurry up, we gotta get this damn cat blasted."

  
Distracted as she was by the approaching drunk it took a moment for Rey to register the strangeness of the statement. Brow furrowing her eyes flickered from the young man struggling to right himself among the mossy tree roots and the posse of his friends who now lifted a box into the air and roared with an overabundance that reminded her of gorillas. 

  
The box was from the liquor store, and from inside a frightened meowing onslaught answered, punctuated with a hiss.

  
Rey felt her lips part as talk of fireworks peppered the slurred voices of the men, realization slowly melting into her brain.

  
"Hurry up!"

  
"I'm coming!" The voice came right from before her, the sloppy mess that had tripped never did manage to right himself. Instead he had crawled, out of her line of sight through the sour sweet of the composting forest floor and still mostly on his knees began to undo his belt.

  
Heart now ramping up in speed Rey winced against the sight, flicking her eyes instead to the others starting their stumbling loud path back to where the trail began and led to the parking lot. Talk of lighters or matches began to froth among their mouths and feeling an ache in her teeth at the thought of what that cat was about to endure she moved.

  
Instantly the drunk was on his feet, shoving himself back in his pants at the sight of her appearing from within the tree itself.

  
Hood up and face shadowed Rey moved forward fast, giving him no time to get more than a half hearted scream out of his throat before she slammed the heel of her palm into his nose and sent him flying backwards.

  
The choked gutteral sound that escaped him was wet with blood. It was a familiar ring, as was the aching feeling in her palm as she skipped over his crumpled cursing body and dodged through the shadows of the trees in the direction of the voices.

  
Among the chaos the cat hissed and growled, poked and prodded with sticks through the handles of the liquor box as they marched unsteadily onward.

  
Breath shallow and with her lip firmly between her teeth Rey stalked them through the trees, half crouched as she passed from tree trunk to tree trunk.

  
There were too many and she was no idiot. To take them all on drunk or not was a recipe for some regrets and a visit to the ER she could not afford. No, snatching the creature when no one was looking or taking it and outrunning them were her only two options.

  
But how?

  
"Are we waiting for Mike?"

  
A chorus of no and other profanity ensued, along with the tossing of a half empty bottle that went flying by Rey's head, reeking of beer as it clattered against a tree and was lost to the shadows.

  
"This fucking furball is going to have one wild night." The boy carrying the box with the cat snorted inelegantly. "First and last time he's going to fly."

  
"Are we gonna have to carry it's half burnt ass to Poe's house? That's gonna smell like shit and I'm not about to put it in my car."

  
"Well how's he supposed to know we got rid of his precious Beebee if we don't take it back?"

  
"Argh, fuck this noise. If Hux has a beef with this kid why isn't he doing the lighting?"

  
"Have you seen Hux? Dude wouldn't be in the woods if you paid him."

  
"He does pay well though, hence here we are. That beer you're drinking is thanks to Hux, good ol' boy."

  
Beyond the bracken chaos at the edges of the trees the lights of the parking lot glared, shooting spears of luminous glow in through the canopy, setting patches of the moss and roots to emerald green. Dodging not just trees and spiders webs now but also the beams of light Rey followed up until the blackberry bushes tangled at the edges of the trail. She watched as they whooped and hollered into the open flatness of the paved parking lot, ramping themselves up for a bit of cruelty.

  
"Damn it." She chewed the inside of her cheek, blinking rapidly to think and as her eyes slid she found a rock.

  
Swallowing she picked up the object, smaller than her fist but the size of an egg and measured it's weight in her palm.

  
On the other side of the blackberry bushes, out of sight the cat gave a screeching wail.

  
"...damn, damn." Brows furrowed with worry but mouth clenched tight, she wound back her arm and threw blind.

  
Probably she should have considered that a knock on the head with a rock might result in someone's death, but there was little time to consider. The crash of glass breaking and a blaring car alarm took over any noise the boys and cat were making.

  
"Well...I'm up to my elbows in it now." Rey whispered, grabbing another rock and heaving it over the wall of bushes.

  
It took another three before their steps started coming closer with their shouts and ducking as close to the ditch by the trail as she could without getting tangled in the blackberry thorns she watched as they rushed back into the trail, screaming threats at someone named Poe in colorful language she was glad he was not there to hear.

  
Without waiting for them to glance around she scrambled up the ditch side and into the parking lot, looking for the abandoned box which was sitting next to a very fancy looking vehicle whose windshield was now decorated with a spiderweb shatter of glass.

  
Grinning despite her nerves Rey rushed forward to the box in which the cat was now hysterical, hissing and yowling with panicked attempts to free himself.

  
"Shss, shss. I've got you, just wait a moment and I'll-"

  
"Who the hell are you?"

  
Spinning around Rey blinked, cat box in her arms and mouth in a wide O of surprise as one of the boys came around the side of the car, shoulders set in an aggressive swagger as he pointed at her with a half empty bottle of beer. "What the fuck are you doing?"

  
"N-nothing! I was just, the cat is unhappy and I was-"

  
"Did you throw those fucking rocks and wreck my car?" Pointing now instead at the windshield he kept coming, backing her up further and further. "Are you one of Poe Dameron's little shit friends?"

  
There was no time for thinking. There was the parking lot in the middle of a provincial park. There was the outhouses further up leading to the trail head and the smaller trail leading to the waterfall and there was the fields, endless in the dark with only a country road between them for at least ten minutes driving into the city.

  
Getting lost in the woods was the only options, and not just for her.

  
Flipping open the cardboard flaps of the cat box Rey sucked in a breath and threw the orange and white tabby within into the approaching threat's face. "Go!"

  
Screaming the boy went flying backwards as the cat flailed, all claws and teeth and animosity. Without a second to waste Rey spun on her heel, chucked herself headlong into the bushes on the other side of the parking lot and whimpering as the blackberry thorns grabbed at her clothing tore through into the woodland behind it.

  
"That way! She went that way!" Their cries followed at her heels and the beam of a flashlight was chucked at her back like a spear. Wincing in the brightness she ran, skipping over tree roots and ducking under branches as the sounds of their pursuit like elephants through the bracken grew louder behind her.

  
Louder meant closer, closer meant pain, and although Rey was familiar with pain she was not at all fond of it.

  
She was reminded of just how much she was not fond of it when she looked back over her shoulder and promptly slammed into a tree.

  
Air knocked clean from her lungs she hit the ground with her shoulder blades and gasping rolled onto her side, freezing as she looked up to find that instead of a tree there was a man.

  
Mouth parting she stared, coughing as she scrambled backwards. Shadowed and darkly dressed he blended into the trunks of the birches all around. Black haired and pale faced he studied her back, undisturbed by her frantic movements. Eyes empty as the sky without stars examined her with interest and she watched with growing wariness as he sniffed the air, nostrils flaring minutely before turning from her to the incoming herd chasing at her heels.

  
They scrambled to a stop at the sight of him. He was imposing enough. Standing a head or two taller than them all and broad shouldered to suit he seemed unfazed by their crowd, cocking his head slightly as he examined each face in turn.

  
Rey shuddered, pressed firmly at the roots of one of the trees, suddenly no longer frightened of the boys that chased. There were predators of many types, and she had met a handful in her life. But none had moved with the silken silence of his muscles, none had stalled those around themselves with such ease.

  
"You should go back."

  
His mouth moved, releasing a sound elegant and dark as the black of his hair and eyes, but sensitive in a way that suited the fullness of his lips and the way they formed the vowels.

  
"You another one of Poe's friends?" This came from the boy whose face was bleeding profusely. Scratches oozed crimson drops along his chin and cheeks, one eyelid was seeping blood like it would usually tears and the bottle which he had accused Rey with now pointed it's broken jagged end at the new intruder. "You and that bitch here for him?"

  
Nothing changed about the stranger's stance, spine straight and eyes calm he let his gaze slide to her, a smudge of red among the tree roots, still as the pine tree that held her so closely. In his eyes the night reflected, it would be easy to be lost there in his gaze with no stars to guide the way. Instead the constellations were mapped on his skin, freckles and beauty spots dotting along like a smattering of confetti.

  
To say she was frightened would be an understatement. There were things in that man's eyes, of a depth and madness she was terrified to know.

  
Yet instead of running, she held her breath and stared.

  
"I don't give second warnings." He turned finally to the pups before him, taking a step forward and then another, eating up the space between himself and them with an easy gait that hinted at a solidity not easily moved.

  
There was a rustle of liquor induced valor from the others, a testosterone fueled snarl that turned suddenly to whimpers.

  
Because with each step the scent of something primal and raw reached their noses, the stem of their brain fostered in the early times of man recognizing the aroma as the one borne by those who easily hand out death.

  
Rey was not prone to fainting, had never done so but once or twice when food had been so hard to come by that rising too quickly resulted in her landing flat on the floor. There was no avoiding it as she watched however. Her heart was a rabbit in her chest, her eyes wide as they took in the shape of him moving predator slow before rushing all snarl and teeth and fight into their bodies.

And when the flashlight fell lighting up the scene and casting their dancing shadows to the bark of the trees she thought she saw his in the shape of a wolf, feral as the woods itself, victor over his prey before her heartbeat and breath betrayed her and unconsciousness took her as well.

* * *

 


	2. Concussions and Tea

_How find you here my dear?_   
_With eyes like stars yet full of tears_   
_How find you on this path my heart?_   
_Alone, easily devoured a youth so tart_   
_How find you in the woods sweet one?_   
_Like crimson apple I have won_

  
She weighed nothing.

  
Like holding an armful of fallen leaves, splendid in their red hues she was but a dream, easily cradled. Long he had stared, even after the departure of those who would have thought to hunt her. Grunting and choking on their terror they had fled, leaving her to him as the victor of the prize.

  
At their retreat he had turned back to her, surprising himself with the interest, crouching to examine the face still set to frowning despite her lack of consciousness. Pretty smooth brows hovered over long lashes against pale cheeks smattered with freckles. There were the signs of neglect easily noted. Dry lips from lack of enough water, scratches and cuts from her frantic run through the woods. She had gained impressive speed in the tangle of the roots and branches, moving almost like she belonged in the wild which she had turned to for sanctuary.

  
The smell of fear had risen from her skin in an acidic scent like limes left to heat in the scorch of summer sun. His hand had flexed at his side, contemplating before lifting and reaching for her, a curiosity about the feel of her skin needling through his brain before he heard the voices.

  
Leaving her to be found did not register as an option. Something about her enticed the senses. She spiced the air he breathed into his lungs, her breath sang a melody over the the chorus of the breeze through the tree branches and before he had really registered the choice his arms had gathered her to his chest and he had disappeared.

  
The walk was a long one. Through untainted woodland covered in a carpet of moss and lichen that dripped from branches in long beards. Creatures rustled and shuddered at his passing and he let them, comfortable in the darkness and oppressive silence of a forest feigning sleep.

  
When he finally reached home, he dared to look down, to examine her still splayed with the relaxed vulnerability of the unconscious. Neck pale compared to her freckled face and tanned hands, he watched as the pulse of blood at her jugular signified a calm rhythm.

  
Likely, that would be the only time she was calm in his presence again. He noted it, wrapped it up carefully within his mind, and buried it deep beneath with everything else he had ever cared to feel. By the time he closed the door to the guest bedroom where she lay he could hardly fathom why he had bothered to take her home in the first place. 

* * *

  
The room was spinning.

  
Rey caught her senses like grabbing at floating prize in a whirlpool, always a little bit out of reach unless you lunged. Above, rafters made of some gold hued wood held up a roof painted white in panels. A strange light fixture was next to it, ornate and iron it's shape was menacing in the half dark of twilight.

  
From her right, when her eyes finally managed to focus with much sliding she could see trees, thick and reaching towards her as though they were confounded to be out in the cold while she lounged comfortably inside.

  
_Inside... ?_

  
Within her veins the blood sprinted, lurched to action by the sudden gasping breath in her lungs and her disorientation.

  
Where was she? How had she come to be in... wherever she was?

  
What had happened?

  
Images flashed within her mind, as dizzying as the unsettling way her eyes refused to latch on to any one thing, always swimming about. There was the wood, and the voices of drunk young men. There was the yowling of the cat and the promise of fireworks.

  
There was the stones being thrown and the shattering of glass and then, as abruptly as her stomach twisted painfully within her there was the crash of her body slamming into another more solid and unmoveable than her own.

  
Rotating her shoulder slightly she mused the slam of her back against the forest ground, feeling the bruise of her impact not just on her shoulder blades but on her cheek and chin and lip where she had come to an abrupt stop against that man.

  
Throat suddenly dry she pushed up, annoyed with herself and the way that her body seemed disinclined to follow her requests. Shock more than anything was the problem, she was sure. It was only shock that could have made her imagine the shape of a wolf in the flashlight cast shadow before her consciousness left her.

  
It was only shock that was making her nostrils flare and her skin hot with growing terror.

  
Her movement must have made some sort of rustling noise, because the door which she located with some struggle in the dark parted and light, warm and soft as butter left to sun flooded the room in an increasingly larger square.

  
Whatever it was she was anticipating to find on the other side of that door it was and yet was not him.

  
Tall as she remembered from the wood, as unimpressed by her existence as before he surveyed her, face largely hidden by the darkness of his hair and the shadows cast by the light behind him.

  
"W...where am I?" Her voice came out hoarse and she winced against the weakness in it, struggling upwards to a sitting position only with some determination. "Where are the others?"

  
His approach was quiet and controlled as he further opened the door and stood before her with hands carefully gripped behind his back.

  
"You mean those fools chasing you through the trees?" Dark eyes surveyed her face, watching as she blinked hard to keep her eyes from shifting, giving in finally and closing them to battle the dizziness.

  
"I have no idea. My assumption is a handful are visiting a hospital." He was a contradiction. Voice soft, he delivered his words with the precision of a knife, turning gentleness to steel at the end so that warily she opened her eyes again, feeling though she could not see it the way her blood must have drained from her face.

  
"You managed a concussion, I think." He continued, moving forward slowly.

  
" _You_ gave me a concussion." Rey snapped, annoyed with the unnerving slowness of his movements. Like a stalking cat his whole body was a tight bow string, and with her head scrambled as it was the thought of fighting him off...

  
She nearly laughed at the idea, and would have if she weren't feeling so much like throwing up.

  
"Is that so." There was no question in his voice so she didn't bother answering, peeking as best she could through her dizziness to look at him.

  
Angular bones supported a set of brows too smooth for calmness. Irritation, mild though it was lingered on his features, and the downturn of his mouth held little warmth. Eyes snagging on that mouth, on the softness of his lips and the careful press of them together before his next sentence Rey swallowed.

  
"I do not think you will be able to walk for some time."

  
This was becoming abundantly clear. Sitting up was costing her in ways she did not think fair. Thoughts about possibly being drugged drifted through her mind and her hands flipped sloppily over her body, shirt, pants, hoodie to find that everything was in it's proper place and as far as she could tell through her confusion there had been nothing inappropriate done to her while she slept.

  
The irritation so veiled a moment before flared finally on her captor or savior's face, she was unsure of which he was. Just as she had predicted he pounced, suddenly before her with hands clenching the sheets at her bedside, looming in such a way as to knock the air right down her throat to choke her.

  
"I did not have to bring you here. Leaving you in the woods was an option. I could perhaps deposit you outside once more to let you find your way, if you so wish it. Though I doubt you would make it far from my front steps."

  
Any attempt to glare back would have been in vain. The world was shifting too broadly from side to side, as though invisible oceans rolled beneath the house. Brow furrowed and jaw clenched she leaned back, blinking hard at her hands. "You cannot expect me to not be afraid. I do not even know your name. Where I am- nothing."

  
"I am Kylo." Abrupt as his approach, he now pulled back, heading towards the door. "If you wish, you can remain the night. If you don't that is your right. You are not locked in." He fiddled the door jam so it jingled and without another glance disappeared.

  
Blinking rapidly after him, confused and uncertain she stared and only after she was certain his steps had faded away did she offer up softly. "I'm Rey."

* * *

  
  
She had not noted it, and perhaps that was a blessing. Blood had stained the pillow behind her head and although her eyes were clearly knocked a little loose in her head by the concussion she had suffered at least she had woken, and seemed spirited enough to be feisty if nothing else.

  
Uncertain now of what he had done Kylo wandered to the kitchen. His home, such as it was did not boast much. There was the entryway where coats and cloaks for different weather hung, as well as boots and shoes in neat rows, each assigned a purpose.

  
Had he been the first to live in the home there would have been no sentimental aspects to the abode. But since this had been a sequestered hide away by his grandfather for his grandmother it had...certain touches.

  
A vase, long emptied of blooms but speckled and black like part of the night sky had been caught in the glass sat on the hall table beneath an oval mirror lined in pearls. The door itself was made of heavy wood and held together with oversized iron hinges and a massive lock. It boasted a circular window like a porthole into the wilderness of stained glass. A miniature image of the night sky dotted with stars and a full moon at it's center either a tongue in cheek testament to who lived in the house or perhaps a proud move on his grandfather's part. He could not be sure, there was little enough he knew about his grandfather.

  
Down the hall from the entryway was the guest room where the girl now rested, likely festering in anxiety and stress. If she was at all human she would be smelling the danger on him like a rabbit smells a fox but that was not his problem. He had done his one charitable thing for the day.

  
Or was it week?

  
Month, perhaps?

  
Past the hall was the sitting room, or at least that's what his mother would have called it. Couches and comfortable arm chairs were lazily strewn on a black and white carpet covered in swirls that reminded Kylo of the forest roots, or when he was in a better mood of the branches of trees against the blazing brightness of the summer sun above him.

  
They faced the grate where on winter nights he lit a flame to warm the house enough to keep his bones from freezing and if he had had luck on a hunt to cook something wild. Usually it was boar, for wild pigs still haunted the mountainsides around. Sometimes, when he was particularly keen he could take down a buck.

  
It was hard work, however. Being alone made hunting a dangerous thing as much for himself as for the one he hunted. But then, not much about being himself nowadays was safe. For anyone.

  
And that brought him back to the guest, unwilling as she was, hiding in his spare bedroom.

  
Standing in the dimly lit kitchen he surveyed his surroundings. It was a small space, with an island square and sturdy covered in butcher block at it's center. From above various cast iron pans and pots hung from hooks and the sink facing out into more woodland shone and sparkled with the water he had been using to rinse off dishes before he heard her movement.

  
His grandfather had put thought into the house. Everything about it hinted at his affection for his wife. Instead of a regular sink, stones that resembled jewels had been molded into granite, so with the sunlight and the water washing dishes was like doing chores in a rainbow of blues and green and soft pale yellows.

  
It was a pity his grandmother never got to see it.

  
Thinking of his grandmother did not help assuage his anxiety. What he knew of her was that she would have been disappointed in him already. Like most of his clan.   
And more so if he let the girl he had thoughtlessly dragged home come to harm. Dragging in a long breath to calm himself he grabbed the kettle and set to making tea. Something calming for the stomach.

  
Ginger, lemon and mint.

  
Maybe, if she trusted him long enough to drink it this might ease the next few days.

 

* * *

  
There was blood on her pillow.

  
Rey stared at it on her lap. Or tried to.

  
Her eyes shifted uneasily and she did not have to be a doctor to know that the concussion was bad. Terrible, in fact.

  
Thoughts of the man Kylo kept her awake despite the ever present tug towards sleep that seemed to hang off her mind and limbs.

  
What if perhaps she was not concussed but drugged? He could be a kidnapper, rapist, or something else. Something terrible.

  
Grinding her teeth she swung her legs as best she could over the edge of the bed and made to get up.

  
If she had been any sort of machine engine lights would have been blaring at her attempt. Flashing warnings of what was to come. Her stomach rolled and the promise of dry heaving was imminent. There was nothing in her stomach to throw up. It had been a whole day since her last meal and she wasn't due for another until the day after so it would be duly terrible. Bile was worse than anything to puke.

  
"I can do this. I can do this." Each breath left her lips in a shudder and holding on to the bedframe she attempted to scan her surroundings.

  
The door was closed but he had said it was not locked. There was the possibility of bumping into him, however and that was best avoided. There was a window on the other side of the bed and from the looks of the frame it was a simple thing to unlatch the two shutters and push them open.

  
Simple if your eyes aren't swimming around in your head like well oiled marbles, anyway. Grinding her teeth to keep the heat of nausea at the back of her throat she stumbled forward as quietly as she could manage and undid the latch, peering out into the darkness of the night.

  
The fresh air at least was welcome. The house was not hot but neither was it cool and outside the night was starting to wane. Soft blushing violet was touching at the tops of the trees that hinted at the possibility of pinks and red and eventually blazing orange.

  
Heaving herself over the ledge was not possible, not with her balance as it was and instead she threw her leg over, gripping the top of the window precariously for a moment before glancing out.

  
She should have glanced out sooner.

  
Eyes wide, and then wider she stared. The house was hanging on to a cliff edge. A rocky incline studded with shrubs and other leafy beings gaped threateningly beneath her feet. One shoe tip touched on the half a foot wide edge of ground on the other side of the window, the only land between the house's side and the endless fall before her.

  
"Oh crap."

  
The door opened just then, startling her around to look, and also lose her grip on the window ledge. She had exactly one moment to catch Kylo's startled eyes before she tipped sideways and felt the world fail to catch her as she fell.

 

* * *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...hey...guys...
> 
> So, I'm gonna take this quite slow. Small chapters, easy pace. Trying to -not- pressure myself to do more. Once I have the hang of this ship I may reach for my usual rhythm and pace. If you're patient with me, we will get there! 
> 
> I am so new at this though, criticisms, suggestions, anything you see that you think I should know, send them my way. I'd be glad for the help.   
> Much love,   
> Inky


	3. Best and Worst

_What kind of hunger do you have?_

_For love, for touch, for blood?  
_

_What kind of sating do you seek?_

_A dream, a fight, a craving piqued_

_What kind of kiss can I give you?_

_With teeth, with lips, with my heart too?_  
  


His hand was around her wrist at the same moment she felt her stomach drop away inside her. There was the warmth of his touch, a bracelet of fingers on her joint and then the snap of her body being denied the gravity pull that wanted to kill her. 

She would have choked down the frightened cry that escaped her throat if the momentum had not pulled her sharply against the cliff edge slamming her ribs into the stone. 

The sound was infuriating to her in it's weakness, also in it's ability to telegraph more damage done to her already fumbling body. Never had she managed to miscalculate so badly. Taking care of herself was a skill she had perfected early on and yet with him around it was as though all of her hard earned lessons were flying out the window. Along with her. 

He seemed to think along the same lines.

"Do me a favor..." His grunt was bit between his teeth as he glared at her from the window ledge, surprisingly unconcerned by her weight as he studied her pained face. "If you're going to commit suicide, don't do it here."

Clearly he expected that she would cower before the blaze of his eyes, and there was indeed a fire hot enough there that it stung, even hanging at his mercy. Something prowled under his skin, it rippled over her own and raised the hairs at the back of her neck to attention. That's what it was, she realized as she hung there panting for breath through lungs that made her ribs ache with every inhale. He terrified her. Like the frantic primal need to get away from bared fangs and extended claws her brain had one setting in his presence. 

Survive. 

Thinking logically had been thrown out the window. Almost literally.

Gritting her teeth to fight down the instinct to just shudder as he glared she bared her teeth in a snarl. "Are you going to let go or pull me up? Make up your mind!" 

It fluttered over his face like the shaky dance of passing candle light but she saw it, that flicker of surprise. Huffing mildly he drew a breath and pulled. 

Their tumble to the floor was inelegant and contained some softly worded curses from both. Despite the fire alarm ring of her senses warning her against his presence she slumped flat on her back, struggling to breathe through the soreness of her newly damaged ribs. 

"What were you doing?" He snapped, shoving himself to his feet to better glare down at her face. "Do they not use doors where you come from?"

"They don't take unconscious girls home in the middle of the night either."

"I should have left you out there where I found you."

"Where you knocked me out, you mean."

"You ran into me."

"I was busy trying not to get..." She waved a hand feebly at him before pressing it over her eyes to still the swaying world around her. "...you shouldn't have been there. Honestly, I thought you were a tree." 

He blinked several times, the privacy afforded by her hands over her face giving him the room to look bemused, if a little bitter. 

"A tree." Mild sarcasm dripped from his words and she let out a huff of air that hurt her ribs more than she had anticipated. 

"I should have crashed into a pine. Probably it would have been nicer to me."

This finally drew a smirk, small though it was from his face and he stepped over her supine form back towards the door. "How bad are your ribs?"

Rey contemplated this question, watching as the black behind her eyelids swam and danced with dark violet and navy blue. Somewhere on her right the warmth of dawn was probably eating away at the night sky. Daring to peek with one eye at the window she winced to see it turning a steadily lighter slate blue. 

"They're fine." She allowed after a moment, lying with the skill required of a street child. 

His silence replied, only broken by the thump of his socked feet on the wood. He was quiet enough that only the fact she was flat on her back on the floor was told her where he went. The clatter of dishes rippled at her from the darkness of her closed eyes, things being stirred and poured whispering in the quiet only early morning can bring. More steps vibrated beneath her spine and wincing against the growing light she peeked again this time in the direction of the door. 

Leaning casually against the door frame he studied her, frown on his face and mouth pressed to a thin line despite the tray in his hands.

"You should call someone. It's possible you broke them."

Rey looked down at her now very dirty red hoodie and the aching rise and fall of her chest. Suddenly glad for the fact she was warmly dressed for a night spent outside she fiddled with the already raised zipper of her sweater. 

"I'm fine."

"You can't stand. I would rather not call an ambulance here, but if you have no one you want to call-"

"Don't call an ambulance." Rey groaned, hiding once more beneath her hands. "I really can't afford it. Please."

Kylo paused, settling the tray in his hands with the tea on the dresser beside the door before crossing his arms. "Who are you?" It was a fair question. The conversation had certainly gone sideways in a way he didn't anticipate. Her animosity and skittishness seemed contained, probably due to the dizziness and the aforementioned damaged ribs.   
  
"Rey." She sighed softly, like she was giving him something she was unsure he deserved.   
  
"Rey what?"   
  
"Just Rey."   
  
Kylo's frown intensified. "Just Rey." Softly said he drew a breath. "Don't you have parents wondering where you are, Just Rey?"   
  
The downward turn of her mouth told him all he needed to know. It was a familiar expression, one he recognized not just from the mirror but from the faces of others who shared his fate. Lips pressing into a thin line of his own he waited, anticipating the lie that would come out. 

Sighing deeply Rey surveyed him once more, and although her gaze had levelled out and seemed more capable of staring it was soft, searching. Whatever it was she looked for he doubted she would find it, not on him. 

So it was with some surprise that he heard her answer. 

"No. Not really."

The whisper of a warning began at the base of his neck, hissing with nerves as he contemplated her honesty.  _She cannot stay here. She must go. She must leave. She must-_

Rebellious, his mouth moved, "I suppose you best try to sleep that concussion off then. I'm going out." 

Tapping the tray on the dresser as he turned he added. "There's tea, if you want it. Unless you think I've laced it with something. Try not to damage yourself further while I'm gone." Not waiting to hear her reply he drifted down to the entrance, shoved his feet into shoes and his body out the door, ignoring the speeding rhythm of his heart. 

* * *

 

The silence of the house lasted a good half hour before she trusted it. He had taken less than a minute to leave. There had been those steps of his, still quiet but rattling up her spine all the same. The fumble of hands on clothes as he put on a jacket and shoes, and then another door opening and closing firmly. 

With her eyes closed she counted breaths, slowed the nausea to a manageable level and waited. If he had intentions about cutting her up and putting her in the freezer now would be the time. She was not in fighting form,  hardly even in walking form, and had admitted to not having anyone to call. 

But he did not return. The minutes ticked slowly by, through her eyelids she watched the sunlight turn her skin a soft peachy hue and the rustle of the breeze through the trees chirped with the waking of the early morning birds.

"Huh." She hummed finally, opening her eyes and finding to her relief that the room was no longer rocking like a ship on an ocean storm. Swaying only slightly she began the delicate process of rising from the floor. 

The room now lit welcomed her with a simplicity she did not expect. The bed was a rugged wooden frame, honey colored wood in clean crisp lines. The covers, rumpled through they were by her moving about earlier were a  pristine white, heavy and down filled, judging by the puffiness. The wood panelling of the walls was smooth, even as she ran her fingers over it to stumble towards the now chilled tea on the dresser. No splinters nagged at the pads of her fingers and when she got to the door peering down the hall told her two things. 

One, he really had not locked her in. She could see the kitchen, complete with a butcher block and knives visible from where she stood, and a window over the sink open to the wild morning wind beyond. And two, he loved to read. 

A lot. 

There were books in piles beside what looked like the back of a couch. Spilling over the side table and burying half of the lamp base. There were stacks on a hall table reaching to the light switch, and beneath it on the shelf it boasted as well as right on the floor beneath that shelf. There were paperbacks and hard covers, textbooks and notebooks and as she slunk skittish as a cat down the hall more became visible with each step. 

On the mantelpiece, on shelves above the door frames, in haphazard towers snug around furniture, on windowsills and hiding behind curtains. Books. 

Rey blinked slowly, assessing her world with a firm grip on her dizziness. Only in a library had she ever seen so many books. And despite their clutter, there were no other messes. Cushions were on the couches, shoes were by the door, dishes washed and put away. 

"...what a weirdo."

"Meow?"

Ironically this calm curious cat question had her jumping nearly out of her skin and hissing out a breath sharply. Behind her, having snuck in through the parted window which she had used to nearly kill herself earlier in the morning now stood an orange and white tabby. Tail swishing rhythmically he blinked several times and then repeated his question. 

"Meow?"

"You!" Rey finally cried, feeling the pulsing drum of her blood in her ears lessen enough for her to hear again. "You nearly got me killed you know!"

The cat cocked his head, unaffected by her accusation. The shift of his body jingled the collar at his neck and Rey let out another heavy breath before crouching down slowly to inspect the shining tag there. "Beebee-eight." She mused, rubbing between his ears and receiving an affectionate lick and a lot of purring for her troubles. "What are you doing here? Do you live here?"

The cat snorted, as if insulted and made to head back to the open window that had been his entrance. Meowing all the while for her to follow. 

"I'm not going out that way." Rey informed him firmly, using the wall to help herself back to her feet. "I already tried that and believe me it did not go as planned."

Beebee paused at the bedroom door frame, contemplating her reply with a thoughtful expression on his feline face, tail flicking with a sort of anxiety that was palpable. 

"Oh, I'm all right." Rey waved a hand at him feebly despite the rolling discomfort of her stomach rebelling against her assertion. "I'm fine. I just... wanted to see if I had finally managed to get kidnapped by a lunatic but it appears my luck has not quite run out." 

Beebee hopped two steps back to her and purring loudly rubbed along her legs in a twisting figure eight. "Thanks." Rey mumbled, smiling as weakly as she felt. "Kinda nice having someone give a damn about where I'm at." 

Wobbly as she was she made her way to the couch, now closer than the bed and crawled into it's comforting embrace with a weary sigh. Her ribs, so sore from being beaten against the house and cliffside complained as she settled. 

Once curled around a pair of cushions she closed her eyes, ignoring the cat as it sidled up and studied her in still anxious silence. 

"You can't just watch me sleep." Rey informed him. "That's just weird. And if you don't live here I feel like maybe you shouldn't hang about. I'm already pushing it as it is with this guy. I just need some sleep. Just half an hour..."

Beebee mewed something sassy in reply, hopping up onto the couch to snuggle without asking for permission and with a loud sigh of supposed consternation Rey allowed him to find a comfy spot to rest his head on her chest. 

"You best not have fleas." She added after a moment, soothed by the pulsing heat of his body and the rumbling ripple of his purr. "I will hold it against you if you have fleas."  
  
Half asleep already she hardly heard him reply, but strangely she thought his meow sounded a little like, "I'm offended." 

* * *

 

He only had to take one step into the house to know that something had been to visit. Something foreign.   
  
Nostrils flaring he sniffed the air, not bothering to close the door behind himself as he scanned his surroundings. The house looked the same. With the light of the noon day sun slanting through the windows the golden tint in the wood of the floor and walls brightened to a cheerful hue. That had been his grandfather's intention as well, he was sure. It was too bright for his own personal taste, but then if he was honest brooding in an actual cave seemed much less comfortable. 

Removing his shoes slowly he let the paper bag in his arms down onto the hall table and stalked his way towards the living room, taking stock of his surroundings even as the scent of the unfamiliar lingered in his nose. 

Whatever it was had been around recently, and had probably taken off on his approach. He could sense it, trailing down the hall and settling on the sofa.

Peering over the couch back he started, surprised to find the girl curled there small as a child, knees to her chest and hugging a cushion tightly. Bruises were now forming along the side of her face, wreathed around the outside of  one eye in varying shades of violet. Scratches had scabbed in a handful of places. They needed tending. He knew this as he knew she was probably starving and as likely to throw a punch as a smile at his return. With her terror so fragrant earlier it had been hard to decipher what other things her scent might give him, besides the knot in his belly he had been unable to shake. But asleep, she was an open book. 

Old adrenaline tinged her skin with metallic tones. Her nerves were often rankled and she had gone several days without bathing, judging by the state of her clothes and the mess that was her hair. There was the smell of the wild on her, of decomposing leaves and pine needles and moist earth that only really got into your pores from being in it long term. 

On top of all that there was the tang of chemical, rust and paint, grease and engine oil. He frowned slightly, puzzled. So many pieces to this little creature, none of them fitting squarely where they belonged. 

And now there was also that one lingering odour of something else. Feline on the outside, something more strange on the inside. 

What kind of thing had he found on his late night forest walk? 

He breathed in, and just to prove his assumptions about her skittishness right she woke in a frenzy, chucking the cushion at him with surprising force before stumbling off the couch. Realizing it was just him she gasped, slapping a hand to her side as she struggled to breathe through her sore ribs.

"What are you doing?" She grumbled, bent nearly double as she winced. "Were you watching me sleep?"

Impossibly, Kylo felt his neck heat. "What? No. I just got back." Drawing all of his irritation to the forefront of his mind he turned, storming back to the bag he had put down upon entering. "If your ribs are cracked they will never heal with the way you jump around. You're worse than a cat in a rainstorm." 

Rey blinked, looking around wildly while he was out of the room. "Beebee?" she hissed, searching frantically. Wincing still she straightened sheepishly as he came back in. 

"Sorry. I'm sorry, you just startled me. T...thanks for- uh." She waved a hand as if that would complete her sentence. Whether because of the fact that she had a concussion or was exhausted or perhaps it was that strange lingering terror that came with his presence words were not working for her. Not at all. Tongue tied she struggled to flick her eyes to his face and away. "I...I've totally overstayed my welcome. I'll just head out now, get out of your way."

"Where are you going to go?" He asked this calmly, casually. Rummaging around inside the bag in his arms kept his eyes from hers. "Back home?"

Flushing pink Rey cleared her throat before forcing out the lie. "Yep. I should probably get cleaned up and stuff..." 

"You don't live anywhere." He stated this with the same calm casual tone as his earlier question, "You've been sleeping in the woods for days." 

Rey clenched her jaw for a moment, glad that at the very least the dizziness had been wiped mostly away by her sleep. Keeping her eyes on him seemed important. Something moved beneath his skin, she could see it even as he shifted his weight on his feet and looked up at her patiently. The patience was a facade and a thin one. At the back of her head something buzzed a warning, even though his eyes seemed to soothe. Clearing her throat she rummaged around inside herself for a bit of sass saved for such occasions. 

"You are doing a poor job of not being creepy. Just so you're aware. How do you know that?"

A flash of irritation passed over his face. "You look it." He waved a hand at the rat's nest that was her hair, and the smudged and dirty clothing hanging off her skinny frame. "And also," He walked back to the entrance, picked up a backpack and tossed it onto the couch before her. 

Her sleeping bag and mat poked out of the familiar fabric. In the clean and warm simplicity of his house they looked ratty. They were probably getting the couch dirty just from touching it. 

"So. Let's try again." He offered, walking past her to the kitchen without examining the flash of humiliation on her face. "Where are you going to go?" 

Rey swallowed, tossing her bag onto her shoulder before shrugging. "What's it to you?"

"You did say it was my fault you could barely stand."

"Because it is." 

"I'm making lunch." Kylo interjected before she got more nasty sounding words out of her mouth. "If you want you can use the bathroom in the room where you woke, there's clothing in the dresser." He nodded at the bag on the island in the middle of the kitchen and still uncertain Rey peered inside. 

Bandages, disinfectant, pain killers and anti nausea medication rattled within along with fresh bread and cheese, bacon and tomatoes, a mini bouquet of fresh basil that made her mouth water almost as much as the smell of the bread. 

His hand appeared within the bag, tensing the muscles along her shoulders. Taking an end of the bread he ripped it, releasing the fragrance of the yeast and warmth into her face before offering it. 

It was not an option to reject it. The only choice she had was in how quickly her fingers snatched it from his palm, pressing the warmth of it to her cracked lips firmly before flicking her gaze up to his face to inspect his reaction. 

It didn't even matter that she was probably looking like some sort of starved raccoon. Fresh bread had not been in her hands in... well she couldn't even remember, in fact. 

There was no pity on his face however, not when she finally looked up. A cool sort of silence met her stare, and despite her embarrassment she frowned. "Why are you trying to be nice?" 

"Trying?" He turned away, and before she could answer his scoff he shrugged, a strange thing for his wide shoulders to do. "My grandmother would expect no less." 

"Hm." Rey hummed, mouth full of bread as she thought. At least that rang with truth. 

With him fiddling inside the fridge she snatched another piece of bread and with it behind her back muttered. "Well... I'll be sure to thank your grandmother then." 

When he said nothing in return she scuttled back to the room, checking that the door locked once she closed it. Just to be sure however she wormed her way onto the other side of the dresser and shoved it in front of the door. 

Once that was done she headed to the bathroom, working hard to hold back tears at the thought of a warm shower and clean clothes. 

* * *

In the kitchen Kylo listened to the grate of furniture being moved in the room, and the hiss of water as the shower was started. Biting his lip firmly he glanced out at the window where the sun was shining so brightly. It was going to be a beautiful spring day, one he would have spent outside ignoring the recurring nightmares of the night before and the rippling monster that hid within his DNA. 

Instead he drew a breath and began the process of heating a pan for thick slices of bacon. 

_This is a bad idea._

He sliced the tomatoes, whipped the basil into pesto, filled the kitchen with the smells of nourishment and warmth that always reminded him of his father. 

_A really bad idea._

Still, he continued. Slicing bread, carving cheese slices into thin shavings before arranging them in neat rows over the fresh bread. 

In his father's voice, painful as all his memories were he heard the familiar chuckle ring with amusement. 

_"Ben, women are almost always the best worst idea."_

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Easy peasy tip toeing into this story like I might scare something if I move too fast. Thank you so much for all the comments and encouragement! I was really confused by the fact a handful of people mentioned I had a unique writing style, but I appreciate that it was mentioned as it made me sit and evaluate what that might mean for a bit. 
> 
> Thank you for all the kudos and comments though, so appreciated.  
> Much love,  
> inky


End file.
